


Zoey's Extraordinary Ride Home

by brittaden



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: F/F, Ignores Canon, Women Loving Women, and i had to write about it, awkward Zoey, but the vibes are there, drunk Joan, drunk name puns, maybe an unrealistic pairing, terrible name puns really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23262271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittaden/pseuds/brittaden
Summary: When Joan invited Zoey out to celebrate her divorce and prove that she was fun, Zoey never imagined the night would end in literal flames and an unforgettable ride home.
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Joan
Comments: 22
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to this show.
> 
> Ignores the ending for the latest episode, "Zoey's Extraordinary Night Out." No family emergencies happens and Zoey finds another way home.

"I'm not ready to go!"

Zoey ignored her boss' drunken whines and continued to help her down the steps to the sidewalk and out to the idled car, which was difficult in and of itself since Joan was much taller than she was. "The party is over Joan. We have to go."

"But I was having fun!" Joan whined again as Zoey fruitlessly tried to force her into the waiting car. "I was _Joan-ing_ the night!"

Zoey groaned, frustrated, when Joan twirled away from her and began to shimmy down the sidewalk. This time as her boss began to sing about boys touching her junk, Zoey wasn't so sure if the music was in her head, because she was also twirling around a light pole and the people around them were beginning to take notice. And not the kind of taking notice where they would either begin to harmonize vocals or suddenly be a back-up dancer in a big musical number that only she could see. This was the kind of taking notice where she needed to intervene of her boss would be the gossip around the cereal bar in the morning.

"Joan!" Zoey yelled out, slightly horrified, before taking off towards her boss and grabbing her arm before she made a complete fool of herself. "Party's over, we have to _Joan_ home."

That killed the mood.

"Leave those to me, _Zo Zo Zo_ your boat," Joan said as she slinked off the light pole and sulked toward the awaiting car. "I'm better at it. I'm fun."

"Yes, you are very fun," Zoey agreed because it was the truth, Joan was surprisingly fun. And drunk. And now increasingly hard to wrangle and wrestle into the car. "But I think we both had enough fun for one night."

She laughed and leaned down into Zoey's face, "Especially you," she teased with a little boop to her nose.

Zoey scrunched her nose and wafted away the fumes coming from her boss because Joan was several more drinks in than she was and she smelled like she had bathed in tequila. She wasn't even going to try to understand what Joan meant because this night had been one disaster after another and none of it ranked any level of fun on her scale. She just wanted to go home, change into sweats, and be alone with no one's thoughts but her own because those came without giant musical numbers that usually further complicated things.

But first, before the comfy sweats, she had to get her boss into the car and safely home. And that was another challenge because Joan had slipped out of her grasp yet again and was now talking to Karen from Accounting who she wouldn't stop referring to as Karen from Accounting. Not just using her first name but adding the whole 'from accounting' with every breath.

"Sorry Karen," Zoey sheepishly apologized before pressing her hands to Joan's back and not-so-gently pushing her towards the car.

"Goodnight Karen from Accounting!" Joan tossed a hand in the air and waved as she was pushed towards the car. Which she fought.

Zoey sighed, exasperated and drunk herself. "Joan," she whispered, rubbing her hands down her face. "Can you please just get into the car? It's late and I'm drunk and I just want to go home but you need to get into the car first."

Joan's face wrinkled with disgust. "I don't want to go to your home. I've seen the way you dress; your house is probably worse. If that's possible."

Zoey wasn't going to take offense to that. That comment was just Joan in her natural habitat and Zoey happened to like the way she decorated her apartment. "We're not going to my house. You're getting in this car and going home. And I'll get into another car and go home."

"Or," Joan began with a smile of her face, "We both get into this car and go to a bar!"

"Joan! Get in the car now!"

Zoey's stern tone startled Joan but it didn't kill the buzz of the alcohol as she stared her smaller counterpart down. "Bossy. I like it."

Zoey ignored whatever the hell kind of look her boss was currently giving her because it wasn't an "I'm so impressed with you" look, it was more akin to the " _Should I Stay or Should I Go"_ look that happened in her living room last night and if she was given the option right now, she needed to go. To wipe that look that Joan was still giving her out of her head.

"Joan. Car. Please," Zoey stammered out the words as she opened up the door for her boss, who was no longer fighting with her and easily slid into the backseat of the car.

Zoey breathed a sigh of relief and went to apologize to the driver for taking so long when she was stopped in her tracks by her boss calling her name.

"Zoey!"

She turned back because even if they were both drunk and not in a work setting and she was incredibly tired, she couldn't ignore her boss. "Yes Joan?"

"Get in the car."

Zoey shook her head. "No, Joan, we're not going to another bar."

"I'm taking you home," she said matter-of-factly.

Zoey stammered again because the look from earlier was back and she stumbled backwards as she spoke. "I was going to get another car and just go home from there."

" _Zoey Roller,_ I'll take you home," Joan assured her. "Your home, not my home. But I'm going to my home."

"Okay," She agreed because it was the simpler option at the moment and she hadn't yet called a car for herself and it was getting very late. Plus, she didn't want to risk not being able to find a car and being stuck out here. Not after what happened inside. "Let's go."

As Zoey climbed into the backseat and shut the car door behind her, Joan was leaning forward and trying and failing to give the driver Zoey's address. Zoey leaned in as well but instead of giving him her address, she rattled of Joan's.

"But that's my address," Joan said, her face adorably scrunched in confusion.

Zoey leaned back in her seat. "I know."

Joan slumped back in her seat, still confused. "You're going to my house?"

Zoey shook her head. Joan might not remember this in the morning, given the number of drinks she had tonight, but this portrayal of her boss would be hard to shake. "No, we're just taking you home first because you've had a lot to drink."

"Because I'm fun," Joan said while pointing a finger at herself.

"Fun," Zoey agreed with a nod of her head and a smile. "And very drunk."

Joan giggled, "Yeah, that too."

The car began to pull away from the sidewalk and away from the disastrous events of the night and Zoey began to find solace in the fact that she was in the back of the car with her boss and was the one making sure the she got home safe and sound. After all, someone needed to be that person. And with all the events that had unfolded within the past couple of weeks, she wasn't at all surprised that this all fell to her. Zoey also found solace in the fact that getting into the back of the car seemed to be the remedy to finally shut Joan down as she was currently resting back against the leather seat with her eyes closed.

Zoey stared out the window as the lights whizzed by and blurred into one and she almost wished that she could hear their driver's thoughts through song to get her mind off of tonight. Everything that had happened between Simon and his fiancée had ended in flames. Literally. She had set her mom's gorgeous rose wall on fire. Accidentally, of course. But still there had been flames and all the blame fell to her. The party ended pretty quickly after that and when she saw Joan about to dance on yet another bar, this time for real and not just in her head, she picked that time to make her escape. With Joan by her side complaining that she wasn't quite ready to leave even if everyone else was already heading to the door.

Zoey was lost in her own non-musical thoughts over how awkward things were going to be between her and Simon from now on, that she only caught the tail end of Joan's latest drunken rambling.

"What did you say?" Zoey asked as she turned to her head to find her boss staring at her.

"You can do better," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Zoey blew out a breath. The last thing she wanted tonight was a lecture on her management style from her boss. But still she asked, "Better at what, Joan?"

"Not that." Joan shook her head. "I'm talking about Simon."

"I..uh...I don't know what you're talking about."

She tried to play the clueless card but, even drunk, Joan was smarter than that. "You know what I mean."

Zoey stayed quiet. She did know what Joan meant. Simon was not an option. He shouldn't have been an option once she learned he was engaged but she had feelings and though she tried to deny them, it didn't quite work out. But after tonight, he definitely wasn't an option. They could be friends. But that's it. Nothing more. It would be hard but she could manage.

"Yeah," she finally agreed. "I know what you're talking about."

"I mean it," Joan replied, her voice soft. "You're brilliant Zoey, there's a reason I picked you."

Zoey could feel her cheeks warming up and questioned if it was from the alcohol hitting her or the sentiments coming from her boss. Joan must've been of the ones that got sentimental and emotional when they drank because this was a stark difference from how she was at work. She enjoyed seeing this side of her boss, even if Joan was most likely to forget this by the morning. Actually, that was probably for the better.

She smiled. "Thanks Joan."

Joan returned the smile and continued with the sentiments. "You deserve someone that sees your potential and thinks you're amazing."

Zoey shifted in her seat because she was the type of person that didn't readily accept compliments. Sure, it was nice to hear but what was she supposed to say that? Coming from a friend, it might've been different. But this was her boss, who she didn't have a real bond with until the past couple of weeks. And that was only because she now had a musical super power that complicated and kind of enriched her life. She just smiled and nodded since it looked like Joan was seeking a response.

"Charlie wasn't like that," Joan divulged as her smile started to fade. "At least not towards the end. Or the middle. He was all about Charlie."

"I'm sorry," Zoey apologized for a lack of a better response because she was not good at comforting people.

Joan shrugged her shoulders. "It's over now."

"His loss."

The older woman laughed at that, her smile returning. "Oh, I'm sure. Right now, he's probably bedding someone half my age."

Zoey cringed at that. It was awkward enough trying to figure out the whole _Satisfaction_ talk with Joan; she didn't need any details of any semblance of sex life of her boss or boss' ex-husband's sex life. Or anyone's really for that matter. But still she felt the need to comfort her boss.

"I mean if you wanted too, I'm sure you could..." She failed at comforting Joan and started to laugh because, even drunk, this was too awkward of a conversation. "I'm sorry, I was trying to say something nice."

"Please don't," Joan said as she started to laugh. "I'm fine, Zoey. It's for the best."

"Okay."

"Really," Joan insisted, falling to the spot above Zoey's knee and giving it a pat for reassurance. She let her hand linger there. "And thank you...for everything."

That look was back and compared with the hand above her knee, Zoey could only nod her head and give a short reply of, "No problem."

Joan just smiled at her. "You look pretty tonight, Zoey. This is a step up."

"Thanks," Zoey replied, confused by the compliment that was almost back-handed. "I wore your shoes. Well the shoes you bought me."

She leaned slightly forward, her gaze roaming over the shoes she had purchased for Zoey then over her dressed-up coworker. "Now I know why I like the outfit."

The younger woman shifted again in her seat, growing uncomfortable under her boss' gaze but she could also feel something else stirring inside of her, the longer that Joan continued to watch her and the longer that her hand remained on the spot above her knee. But what she was feeling couldn't possibly be what she was feeling. Nope. This was just a terrible cocktail of alcohol and disastrous events that filled her night. There were not any other feelings developing other than the feeling that she was ready to be home and in bed.

She could feel that the car had stopped and heard the driver announce that they were at the first destination but Joan had started to stroke her fingers where her hand rested and Zoey was at a loss for what to do. But before she could tell Joan that they were parked out in front of her house, the older woman reached out with her other hand and gently stroked the side of her face.

At this moment, Zoey wished she could hone her powers and hear anyone's thoughts through song at any given moment because it would be incredibly useful to hear what Joan was thinking right now. Joan didn't leave her guessing for long though as she leaned in and brushed her lips against hers.

She could taste the tequila on Joan's lips and she was expecting her to pull back just as soon as she leaned in and just call it a drunken misstep due to her first night out as a single lady, that was a thing, right? But Joan didn't pull away. No, she cupped Zoey's face in her hand and held her closer as she deepened the kiss. Her tongue ran softly along the seam of Zoey's lips, encouraging her.

Maybe it was just the alcohol but Zoey felt herself beginning to melt into the kiss and Joan's light touches. Her lips were incredibly soft and warm, and that boast earlier about being able to tie a cherry stem with her tongue was _definitely_ true. Which is not something she thought she'd find out about her boss tonight but right now, there were no complaints.

Distantly, she heard the driver announce once again that they had reached their destination and Joan must've heard them too because she pulled back from the kiss. But she remained close enough so that when she spoke, her words ghosted across Zoey's lips.

"Haven't done that in a while."

At a loss for words at that confession and the kisses that had her lips tingling, Zoey pulled further back. As Joan turned away from her and reached for the car door handle, Zoey began to hear music building up in the background that was soon followed by her boss' voice singing along to the beat.

"So, we laughed, compared notes, we had a drink," Joan sang as she exited the car. "We had a smoke, she took off her overcoat."

Zoey watched as her boss swayed to the music and continued to sing as she walked towards the house looming in the distance. But with the next lyric, Joan turned to face Zoey again.

"I kissed a girl, I kissed a girl."

With that, Zoey scrambled across the car seat and quickly slammed the door shut. Through the closed car door, she could still hear her boss singing about how they kissed and she was trying to remember as many of the lyrics as she could to look up the song later and ask Mo's opinion of the song, hopefully without giving too much away.

Needing to get away from the song and everything that had just happened, Zoey quickly told the driver her address and asked him to make the trip as quick as possible. As the car began to drive away, the music and lyrics began to fade and Zoey buried her head in her hands and asked herself one question.

"What the fuck?"


	2. Zoey's Extraordinary Awkward Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to continue this story and hoping to have weekly updates!
> 
> Disclaimer in first chapter.

Zoey nervously drummed her fingers alongside the take-out cup of coffee that she had stopped for on her way into work this morning. Not that she needed the caffeine boost, she was already jittery enough at what would await her at work. That is, once she had enough courage to step out of the elevator. So far, she had stood rooted in her spot in the elevator for at least four stops now. But the weird looks from her fellow co-workers were a lot easier to deal with than with the repercussions that came with kissing your boss in the back of a car after a disastrous night out.

Who knows though, best case scenario, Joan might've been just drunk enough that she had completely forgotten about the kiss. Or was that the worst-case scenario? Not knowing which would she wanted it to be only freaked Zoey out more and was the catalyst for one more elevator ride before stepping off on the floor she worked on but that idea was halted when a hand smacked against the side of the elevator and held it so it stayed open.

"What are you doing, you weirdo?" Max asked, smiling at her with that crooked smile. "I've counted three elevator stops, are you going for a world record or something?"

"Actually, there were four and yes I am," Zoey laughed it off, hoping that Max didn't pick up on any weirdness because she couldn't even begin to explain this to him. Especially not after hearing his heart songs. That would be like rubbing salt in his wounds.

Max gave a jerk of his head back to their office space. "Well come on, there's something we need to talk about."

"What happened?" Zoey asked urgently as she fell in step behind Max. He couldn't possibly know what happened. No one could. There was no way. "Is there a crisis? Does it involve me?"

Max was leading her to where the other coders had formed a huddle around a computer but he stopped at that. "Why would it involve you? Did something happen that I don't know?"

"No, what?" Zoey stammered. Her fingers were back to nervously tapping against her coffee cup. "I have no news. Just tell me what you're talking about."

Max leaned in, as if most of the office didn't already know. "Joan and Charlie are getting a divorce."

"Oh," Zoey sighed, a wave of relief washed over her that this news wasn't about her.

He pulled back from her. "Unless you already knew that."

"I might've heard a rumor," she played it off because it's not like Max needed to know that Joan had confided in her after she relentlessly pursued the deeper meaning behind Joan's first heart song which led to her playing couple's counselor for them which then led to a new bond between them that had culminated in a drunk Joan kissing after she burned down a rose wall at an engagement party.

Yeah, that she was definitely keeping to herself.

"Hey, I like rumors," Max joked.

Zoey smiled at him. "Okay, well next time I hear our rumor about our boss getting divorced, I'll pass it on."

"That's all I'm asking."

"What are we asking for?" Joan asked, popping up out of nowhere and scaring the pair. "Are we talking about the boss' divorce too? I've already been over it but you two can catch the highlights from the other coders who think that my personal life is their business."

"Sorry," Max quickly apologized. "I just wanted to offer my condolences."

"Okay," Joan replied with a nod of her head and an unimpressed look on her face. She, then, turned to face Zoey. "We need to talk in my office."

Before Zoey could ask why or object, not that she would object an order from Joan because that was asking for trouble, Joan turned on her heel and left Zoey nervous and fidgeting once again. She shared a look with Max, one that was their usual whenever Joan demanded one of them in her office, before she followed in Joan's footsteps. She took the time to drop all her stuff on her desk before practically sprinting to Joan's office.

"You wanted to talk?" Zoey asked as cool as she could in spite of how she felt. "What's up?"

"Well, moving past that," Joan replied. She sat at her desk and pushed her tablet across the desk to Zoey. "Leif had a new idea and it was, surprisingly, good. Needs some work but there's real potential there."

"Um, okay," Zoey drug out the last syllable as she approached the desk and picked up the tablet. She tapped and swiped at the screen for a new product design called The Chirp. "This was Leif's idea?"

Joan nodded her head. "I was just as surprised as you are. He pitched it to me at Simon's engagement party, which I'm sure you remember."

Zoey could feel her cheeks heating up and her breath was caught in her chest as Joan gave her a very similar look to the one she gave her a couple nights ago. Or maybe she was imagining it. She let out a little nervous laugh. "So…um…Leif's idea?" she asked, just trying to get back on track.

"Once he pitched the idea to me, I couldn't get it out of my head. We met yesterday to go over the logistics and design for the product and since you are his supervisor now, I wanted to loop you in before we give the presentation."

"We?" Zoey questioned.

"Leif and Me," Joan answered. "Of course, we'll be bringing you into this but, for now, we'll give the presentation."

"So, you called me in here to show me the idea?"

Joan gave her a look and Zoey regretted even wasting her breath asking the question when the answer was obvious. Of course, she had been called in her to talk about Leif's idea. The idea that she didn't even know he had and that kind of bothered her since she was his superior but Joan was the one that said they needed a new idea, so, of course, he would go to her first. At the very least, Joan was looping her in now so she wasn't totally bombarded by their presentation. That was...something.

"Never mind," she said dismissing her own question. She looked away from Joan and back to the tablet in hand that showed sketches of Leif's idea. She looked back up when Joan began speaking.

"I was going to fill you in more before we gave the presentation but you decided to use the elevator as your own personal amusement park ride this morning and wasted precious time."

Zoey cringed. "You saw that?"

"I see everything, Zoey."

"Right," she said with a nod of her head. She, then, gestured to the tablet in her hand. "And this is all you called me in here for?"

Joan gave a nod of her head. "Yes, Zoey."

"Right."

She crossed her arms on her desk. "I need you to round up everyone and let them know that we'll be giving a presentation soon. Also, I need Leif in here, if you'll let him know for me."

"Aye-aye captain!" Zoey said with a mock salute to her boss that she instantly regretted. "That I can do."

"Don't ever do that again," Joan said half-heartedly.

Reflexively, Zoey gave her a thumbs up. "You got it!"

Flushed with embarrassment, Zoey turned on her heel and set out to do as Joan had asked of her. Before she got to the office door, Joan's voice was calling her back.

"Zoey?"

"Yes?" She asked a little too eager as she turned around to face her boss.

Joan clicked her tongue and pointed at the tablet still in Zoey's hand. "That's mine."

Zoey hurried back over to Joan's desk and handed over the tablet. She couldn't help but notice that during the exchange of the tablet, Joan's hand lingered on hers a little longer than normal and she smiled before taking the tablet completely away and then used the same hand to gesture in a shooing motion. Zoey bowed her head before turning back around and finally exiting the office.

* * *

Zoey considered hiding herself in one of those isolation pods where their sole purpose was total isolation and complete focus on one's work. After the morning she had, being in complete isolation with her tablet and a true crime podcast episode as her only company sounded almost perfect. But she guessed as a supervisor, she needed to be more available to those she was supposed to be supervising, so she settled on another chair in which to curl up and code.

She had successfully avoided Simon for most of the day and the few times that she couldn't avoid him, Max, she was ever thankful for him, jumped in and saved her from a whole bunch of awkwardness. They even decided to get out of the office and go to lunch together somewhere not on a campus. A fact she was also ever thankful for because it got her out of the way of Simon and Joan.

Joan.

That was a different story today. Usually, before these last couple of weeks, she avoided Joan for different reasons. Since she wasn't completely sure how she wanted things to happen with Joan after their drunken kiss in the back of a car, avoidance seemed like the best approach. However, avoiding Joan wasn't as easy as it sounded. Especially today.

She had been called into a pseudo-meeting first thing this morning where Joan just wanted to show off Leif's idea and tell her that they'll loop her in more soon. Then, after the presentation, she was called back into Joan's office where she thought they were going to discuss their new tech idea but instead Joan just ended up telling her more details about her divorce and that she was doing really great. Save for a few bad mistakes. Zoey wasn't listened as a bad idea in Joan's list but maybe that was her way of hinting at it.

No, Joan was direct and blunt and didn't talk her way around things without ever getting to the actual point. So, that couldn't have been it. At least, Zoey didn't think so. And the idea of their kiss not being a mistake, calmed Zoey down a little even though she still had a nervousness about her. Then, just as she thought she could leave, Joan mentioned that she was thinking about getting back out there in the dating world. That she was ready.

Joan still hadn't mentioned their kiss or even alluded to it, not that Zoey thought she would at work, and she didn't want to overthink anything and assume that Joan was dropping a hint to her. That would be crazy. Joan was her boss. She couldn't date her boss.

Plus, there were still the feelings for Simon that just didn't disappear overnight like she had hoped they would. And then, there was the crown jewel that was Max who had sung a couple heart songs that further sent her spiraling into a land of confusion. He was her friend. Her best friend but apparently, he was harboring feelings for her like Simon, and like Joan maybe was now.

The whole thing was almost laughable. Yes, she had dated before and had boyfriends before, and a computer camp girlfriend that opened up her eyes to dating the same sex, but to have three people into her at the same time? That was a lot to process.

Not even the true crime podcast that she had blaring in her ears could drown out everything that was rolling around in her mind. And they usually calmed her down.

Plus, maybe Joan wasn't actually interested and it wasn't something that she needed to worry about. But there wasn't an easy way to find out that answer. One doesn't simply drunkenly kiss their boss and sweep it under the rug like nothing ever happened. Joan might've been too many drinks in to exclusively remember that part of the night but Zoey knew one thing, she couldn't forget it.

The only thing that jerked Zoey out of her rambling thoughts was the taking off of her headphones that she reflexively reached up for to find that Max was the one behind the interruption.

"This is a podcast about the Golden State Killer," Max said after listening to what was playing from her headphones.

"True crime calms me down," Zoey defended as she took her headphones back from Max.

"Okay, well since you were off in serial killer land, I'm going to say that you didn't notice Joan pointing and calling you into her office, oh for like the past two minutes now," Max replied and used his eyes to direct Zoey's attention to their boss' office where Joan sat with Leif.

Sure enough, Joan was watching them and moving her finger in a 'come hither' motion directing it at Zoey.

"Again?" Zoey complained. "That's like the third time today. What could she want now?"

Max shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, it's Joan, she could want literally anything. And I mean anything."

Zoey groaned. She thought she was in the clear for today but that didn't look like it was happening. "But calling me into the office three times? Seems like overkill for today."

"Maybe someone has a crush," Max teased.

Zoey's eyes widened at that. And she grew suspicious. "What?" she asked with a little nervous laugh. "Who said anything about that?"

"Relax Zoey, it was just a joke," Max assured her. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Is everything okay? You seem a little off today."

She shook her head. "I'm just a little tired."

"Alright," Max said, his tone a little disbelieving. "Well you better go, don't want to keep Joan waiting any longer."

"Right," Zoey replied as she was already turning away from Max and heading towards Joan's office.

Back in Joan's office for the third time today, Zoey walked up to see Joan and Leif sitting on the same side of the desk. She politely knocked on the door-frame and waited for Joan to acknowledge her before she fully entered the office.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Finally," Joan said as she noticed Zoey. "You took long enough."

"Sorry, I was working on some code and I just got wrapped up in it," Zoey lied and hoped that Joan believed her.

"Good, that's why I called you in here," Joan replied, looking up at Zoey. "I have a few calls to make right now so I want you and Leif to get together and begin working more on this idea."

"Right now?" Zoey asked.

"Preferably yesterday because this is a golden idea of a product," Joan answered. "So, yes, right now."

"Okay," Zoey sighed. "Anything else?"

"Nope," Joan answered quickly, already shuffling papers around on her desk and reaching for her phone. "Just need you two to get started so we'll have something soon that we can actually present as a viable product."

Zoey nodded her head in response. With no more being said, she motioned for Leif to follow her out of Joan's office so they could find a spot to work as they were requested.

* * *

Later that night, after working the rest of her day with Leif who made it obvious that he would prefer to work with Joan, Zoey was finally packing up her things and getting ready to leave for the day. She slipped her headphones over her ears and started up another episode of a true crime podcast as she wound her way through the office and headed towards the elevator. Distant voices played over the voices coming through her headphones and her curiosity got the better of her. She slipped the headphones off and crept slowly towards the voices to find that Joan and Leif were standing in the conference room talking.

Her name popped up. That she wasn't surprised about since Leif seemed to relating everything back to Joan that they had worked on earlier. But what made her stop in her tracks, was when Leif started coming on to Joan. Judging by the look on her face, Joan seemed just as disturbed at what Leif was implying as she did. Her inner voice was screaming 'no' over and over again as music began to play in the background and Leif began to sing a heart song to Joan. Their boss.

Zoey was horrified. And not only because this was Leif and she had her own personal issues with him but his heart song was very telling of his intentions. If there was ever a time for her to interfere in her boss' personal life and stop her from making another bad mistake, this was it.

She just had to wait for Leif to finish singing because she knew that trying to interfere while someone was singing their heart song did not work out. That is if the idea of Leif trying to seduce their boss with terrible intentions didn't make her sick first. Luckily, the song was short and as soon as Leif was trying to hit on Joan again, Zoey rushed over to them.

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

She could tell Leif was mad at her when he spoke. "Actually Zoey, Joan and I were in the middle of something."

"Oh, I know," Zoey said, eyeing him carefully and wedging herself between the two. "I just had a few questions that I need to ask Joan."

"Leif," Joan said as she looked over Zoey's head at the guy in question. "I believe we're done here for the night. We'll reconvene in the morning."

Leif tried to protest but Joan cut him off and reiterated the fact that they could go over everything else tomorrow. Zoey looked over her shoulder to watch Leif begrudgingly pick up his things and leave. She tossed him a little smile and wave just to mess with him before she looked back to face Joan.

"You had some questions for me, Zoey?" Joan asked.

"Well, actually," Zoey took a few steps back from Joan. "Not really. I just...okay, here's the thing."

"Yes?"

She just needed to spit it out. "I'm your friend and I just had to tell you that I had a feeling that Leif was trying to come on to you and you mentioned your bad mistakes and Leif would definitely be a bad mistake. If not the worst. Plus, I'm pretty sure his intentions are sketchy."

Zoey waited for Joan's reactions and was both relieved and a little confused when she started to laugh.

"Oh my God, Leif?" Joan asked through a laugh. "Zoey, come on, give me some credit."

Zoey had started to laugh along with her. "It is a pretty ridiculous idea."

"Very," Joan said with a smile. "It would never happen. It flies in the face of everything I believe in regarding workplace professionalism. I'm his boss."

Zoey sucked in a deep breath. Maybe that was her answer. She wasn't even completely sure of her feelings for Joan or if she had any at all but hearing Joan talking about workplace professionalism felt like a punch in the gut when their kiss had been on her mind all day.

"Right, you're his boss, and that is totally unprofessional and wrong," Zoey started to babbled. "And you're very professional, so you wouldn't ever do that. Kiss one of your co-workers, that's absurd. And you're my boss too."

"Zoey," Joan interjected. "Are you done?"

"I guess I am now."

"Good. That was a lot of nonsense but I think I know what you're trying to say."

"You do?"

Joan gave a nod of her head. "If you're referring to Simon's engagement party, which is the only thing there is to refer to, I do remember what happened between us. And you're right, it was unprofessional."

"Right, unprofessional," Zoey agreed.

"But," Joan said as she took a step towards Zoey. "I don't regret what happened."

Zoey stood rooted in her spot. "You don't?"

"I was drunk, yes, very," she said as she took another step closer. "But I still knew what I was doing. Even if it was wrong."

Zoey stayed silent and stared up at Joan because in just a few seconds, Joan had closed the small gap between them and stood so close that they were almost touching. And now they were touching because Joan had reached out and brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face.

"Do you regret what happened Zoey? You have been acting a little stranger than normal today."

"I..." Zoey tried to process all that was happening. "I don't."

"Okay," she smiled. "Let's have dinner."

"Tonight?"

Joan shook her head. "Not tonight, it's already late. Friday, I'll send a car to pick you up. Sound good?"

"Yep," Zoey found herself agreeing before she even knew exactly what it was that she was agreeing to. "Sounds great."

"Friday," Joan agreed. "I'll see you in the morning, Zoey."

As Zoey was trying to figure out what she agreed to by going to dinner with Joan, Joan was already packing up everything of hers that was spread out on the table beside them. She waved by to Joan as she exited and hope that her exit wasn't met with another heart song because after everything today, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. Zoey was grateful that she was only met with silence as she watched Joan walk out of view. She threw her headphones back on and immersed herself in a podcast as she hurried out of the building with her apartment in mind and to the one person that could help her navigate this new path that opened up because of her powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love! Really wasn't expecting this story to get as much as attention as it did.

**Author's Note:**

> I also do not own the rights to the song, "I Kissed a Girl," by Jill Sobule.
> 
> This is my first time writing a wlw pairing, so I'd appreciate any feedback. & thanks for reading!


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